1. Field Of Application
This invention relates to systems and methods that facilitate a safer environment; and more particularly, to systems and methods for recycling articles that have been subjected to their normal and intended use and which after such use are spent and contaminated and relatively dangerous to be merely disposed of in a dump or landfill.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
There is significant concern today for the environment and for the affect upon the environment of articles and materials that are disposed of after normal, intended and required usage. Everyday activities of society require that we eat, dress, live some place, work, travel to and from work, shopping, vacations and for other necessary and desired purposes, and engage in a myriad of other activities. Most of these activities require the use of materials and articles that must be properly disposed of after use or their useful life. Unfortunately, disposing of some of such articles and materials creates hazardous waste that could, if improperly disposed of, contaminate the land, water, air and other components of the environment. In addition, disposing of such articles and materials in landfills and other available facilities for solid waste disposal is rapidly filling up such facilities, and that has produced significant activity to recycle and otherwise separate from solid waste as much material as possible to reduce the bulk of the residue which is to be placed in such solid waste disposal facilities.
Various sets of equipment have been arranged in systems to function according to prescribed methods for the purpose of reducing the bulk of household and industrial waste and to recycle various components therefrom. One such system is shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,815,668 granted on Mar. 28, 1989 to J. Frei for "Process And Device For Working Up Household, Industrial and Other Similar Waste." Other such systems are directed to removing specific components from household and industrial waste such as those shown and described: in U. S. Pat. No. 4,070,273 granted on Jan. 24, 1978 to B. W. Morey for "Glass Recovery" for removing glass from such waste; in U. S. Pat. No. 4,778,116 granted on Oct. 18, 1988 to J. L. Mayberry for "Municipal Waste Processing Apparatus" for separating grit, metal and glass from such waste; in U.S. Pat. No. 4,874,134 granted on Oct. 17, 1989 to T. J. Wiens for "Solid Waste Processing Facility And Process" for separating the biodegradable material from solid waste; in U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,659 granted on Nov. 26, 1991 to E. Heeren et al for "Method Of Treating Refuse Scrap" for removing metal content from such waste; and in U. S. Pat. No. 4,988,044 granted on Jan. 29, 1991 to D. H. Weitzman et al for "Steel Can Shredding/Delabeling System And Method" for separating steel and tin from such solid waste.
Still other systems and methods are directed to specific problems such as that shown and described: in U.S. States Pat. No. 3,476,570 granted on Nov. 4, 1969 to A. Moustafa for "Oleaginous Material Reclamation Process" for reclaiming margarine from packaging materials; in U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,541 granted on Oct. 15, 1991 to H. Schade et al for "Method And Apparatus For Removing Pollutants From Contaminated Soil"; in U.S. Pat. No. 4,139,454 granted on Feb. 13, 1979 to R. W. Larson for "Reclaiming System For Scrap Metals" for separating metals from automobiles; in U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,187 granted on Jul. 10, 1990 to T. Lee for "Systematic Equipments For Recycling Raw Materials From Waste Wires"; in U.S. Pat. No 5,074,477 granted on Dec. 24, 1991 to H. Welter et al for "Method Of Disposing Of Cooling Units" and in U.S. Pat. No. 4,851,123 granted on Jul. 25, 1989 to S. K. Mishra for "Separation Process For Treatment Of Oily Sludge."
However, none of the arrangements of equipment or methods or processes shown and/or described in the patents set out hereinabove are intended for or suitable for disposing of used or spent automotive oil filters in an environmentally safe manner. It must be kept in mind that there is a great amount of automotive traffic on the roads today and that the proper operation of automotive vehicles (trucks, cars, busses, etc.,) requires the use of oil filters disposed in the path traveled by oil that is pumped through their engines to keep the engines running. Such oil filters usually include a container of metal with a paper cartridge inside and through which the oil is passed to entrap contaminants that have been picked up by the oil. When the oil is changed in such vehicles it is quite usual to also change the oil filter. The used or spent oil filter is then disposed of; quite often with the other garbage. Even if allowed to drain for a reasonable time there is spent oil trapped within the oil filter, at times between 6 and 8 ounces of such oil per used filter. Dumping of such oily used oil filters on garbage dumps and in solid waste landfills has and will continue to create environmental problems. An environmentally safe disposition of used automotive oil filters is needed but not available with existing treatment and/or recycling arrangements and methods.